Episode 7: Camille Perri

Discussion Questions

Do you believe Tina’s decision to use Titan’s reimbursement check to pay off her student loan debt is justified? What about Emily’s actions? How do their respective life circumstances and goals influence your view of their moral character? Should we hold a disadvantaged person to different moral standards than we hold a person of privilege?

Discuss the roles of income inequality and gender in this novel. Did the novel change your opinions and ideas about those issues? How do you feel constrained (or empowered) by your own economic status or gender?

Do you view Robert as a villain? Do you think Tina sees him as such? How might your perceptions of Robert and Tina be different if there was a more objective narrator, or no first-person narrator?

Was the ending of the novel satisfying? Did anything about the ending surprise you? While you were reading, how did you want the story to end for Tina and Emily? For Robert?

For more discussion questions and to read an excerpt from the book, click here.

Book Club Bites

Whether you’re gathering with a group, or reading solo, try our recommendations for a cocktail and snack that pair perfectly with the book.

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Recommended Books

CAMILLE PERRI is the author of The Assistants. She has worked as a books editor for Cosmopolitan and Esquire. She has also been a ghostwriter of young-adult novels and a reference librarian. She holds a bachelor of arts degree from New York University and a master of library science degree from Queens College. Perri wrote the first draft of The Assistants while working as the assistant to the editor-in-chief of Esquire.

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